Bighorn was included in this month’s Telegraph feature ‘Ski Holidays to Book Now’. The definitive guide to the best holidays available this winter whatever your style or budget, Bighorn was recommended as the best for ‘Out and Out Luxury’: “Nothing says luxury quite like being whisked into the wilderness from your own helipad and returning to a five-star chalet to enjoy a private spa, cinema and gourmet food”. Read the complete 2015 guide here.

“I’m lucky enough to experience ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ ski trips more than once a season. That said, my all-time favourite trip was to Bighorn in Revelstoke, BC. This place truly has it all: heliskiing from the back garden, big mountain skiing in Revelstoke Mountain Resort and all the trappings of the ultimate party chalet from a private cinema and 16-person hot tub to a pool room and teppanyaki kitchen”.

In Revelstoke, both private and shared group heliskiing is available. Here we explain the difference between the two, along with some pro’s and con’s.

Private heliskiing means chartering your own helicopter for the day or week, for exclusive use by your group. You’ll have your own guide(s) and they will tailor the experience to your group’s needs. So whether you want to ski hard and fast all day long, or take a more leisurely pace to enjoy the scenery, your wish is their command. Guests staying at Bighorn normally go for this option, as they can fly straight from the house helipad and do all their safety training from the comfort of the lodge.

Pros:

1) No waiting for other people

2) Dedicated service – the heli will be at your beck and call all day

3) Bespoke experience – fly when you want, ski where you want and at your pace

Group heliskiing means buying a seat on a helicopter for a day, or multi day program. You’ll share the heli with other people, but guides will try and match guests with similar abilities and speed. The helicopter will normally fly 3 or 4 groups each day, so there is some flying back and forth as the pilot shuttles groups out to the heliski terrain and from run to run. This may mean you are driven out to a staging post to reduce flight time.

Pro’s:

1) Cost-effective

2) Sociable

3) Sustainable pace – groups tend to ski a little slower which is a blessing if you are helsikking for several days and are less than Olympic fit!

4) A great way to try heliskiing and get a feel for the incredible snow and terrain around Revelstoke

Cons:

1) There will be some waiting around for other groups, other members of your group and at the start of the day while all the groups are taken out to the tenure.

2) You will be required to meet at a set time and ski for a certain duration (though you can sit out a run in the heli if you are tired).

3) The helicopter will fly from a central meeting point which may require a vehicle transfer from your accommodation.

Heli skiing is exhilarating but also requires a degree of physical fitness. What can you do if you haven’t had time to follow a ski fitness programme and you find yourself with sore legs? Here are the team at Bighorn’s five simple steps to aid recovery and reduce muscle stiffness

1) Eat some carbohydrate

Altitude leads to an increased carbohydrate requirement as you have a higher resting metabolic rate. Skiing also uses carbohydrate for fuel in both blood sugar and glycogen in your muscles. After an epic day’s heliskiing snack on ‘good’ carbohydrate like bananas, dried fruit and potatoes. The chef at Bighorn can prepare delicious banana bran muffins, honey nut granola bars and potato blinis with smoked salmon and lemon creme fraiche.

2) Hydrate

Drink lots of water to help flush out toxins and reduce muscle soreness

3) Massage and relaxation

Increases the flow of blood to tissues, which can prevent soreness. Enjoy a special apres-ski sports massage in luxurious Bighorn spa or relax in the huge outdoor hot tub.

4) Stretching

Elongating muscle fibres enhances recovery and reduces stiffness. Prolonged stretching helps muscles to have a fuller range of motion thus reducing the chance of strains. We can arrange personal stretching sessions with a qualified physiotherapist.

5) Active recovery

Gentle aerobic exercise increases the flow of oxygenated blood flow to muscles which aids the removal of lactic acid.

“Quite simply Revelstoke has to kick off our list, as talk to anyone who has been and they’ll tell you, not just how good it is but how truly epic it is. Revelstoke has the lot when it comes to on-mountain terrain, there’s steep and open powder faces, fantastic tree skiing, long well-maintained pistes, an adjacent cat-skiing operation and if that’s not enough then the ½ a million acres of heli-sking terrain should keep you happy”.

This top ranking comes as no surprise to us. Our guests have been enjoying Revelstoke’s deep powder snow, incredible terrain and uncrowded slopes for 3 seasons now.

Bighorn is unique in offering skiing at a world-class resort, private heliskiing, cat skiing and backcountry touring all from one base. The luxury lodge offers the most indulgent accommodation imaginable with every kind of ski adventure right on the doorstep. Heliski direct from the house helipad or be on the Revelation Gondola heading up North America’s highest vertical descent in a matter of minutes.

After 62cm of snow in the last 7 days we now have bluebird skies and perfect conditions to ski all the powder snow. Revelstoke is famous for its consistent and heavy snowfall, so the few sunny days after the storm are to be cherished! Check out this video of the heli coming in to land on the Bighorn helipad. It shows not only how quickly guests can be whisked into the world famous heliski terrain, but also the stunning views from Bighorn when the sun shines.

Clear skies mean guests can fly higher and access some of the alpine terrain – glaciers and powder bowls. The beauty of heliskiing in Revelstoke is that there is terrain for any weather. On snowy or cloudy days skiers can rip it up in the forest – Revelstoke has epic tree skiing that attracts ski fanatics from all over the world. There is so much fun to be had popping off terrain features and landing in pillows of soft powder snow.

Needless to say, the guests heliskiing in the video had an unforgettable day, polished off nicely with a brandy hot chocolate on the helipad when they returned!

Revelstoke is enjoying superb early season conditions with a solid base of snow and a dump of 40cm of fresh snow last weekend. Revelstoke Mountain Resort opened with a bang and there were queues of people who had been camping out overnight to get the first tracks of the season! Cold temperatures have ensued, keeping the powder snow light and dry.

These cold bluebird days are perfect for enjoying the views from Bighorn. They also make for some spectacular heliskiing in the backcountry, with good visibility and fun terrain features. We still have some availability in January, so contact us now to enjoy the fantastic early season snow.

We are pleased to announce that Bighorn was voted not only Canada’s Best Ski Chalet, but the World’s Best Ski Chalet at the World Ski Awards. The prestigious ceremony took place in Kitzbuhel, Austria last week and was attended by ski industry VIP’s from around the globe. Bighorn beat stiff competition from luxury properties in 20 countries including France, Switzerland and the USA.

Bighorn’s founder was in Austria to accept the award, click here to see his reaction

Our decadent lodge has unrivalled accommodation and facilities as well as outstanding cuisine and service from a dedicated team of staff. Bighorn also has a private helipad from which guests can fly directly to the renowned heli ski terrain of the Selkirk Mountains. Heli skiing is complemented by superb lift skiing at Revelstoke Mountain Resort.

Congratulations to our hardworking team who make staying at Bighorn a unique and now award-winning experience!

It’s been snowing in the Selkirk and Monashee Mountains for a few weeks now, but in the last few days it has been dumping all the way to the base. Check out our video to see the white out at Bighorn. With just 3 weeks until the start of the season, the snow base is looking good and we expect great early winter conditions. Bring on the pow!

We are delighted to be featured in this month’s Vanity Fair magazine. Their ‘Superchalets’ feature highlights the very best luxury chalets in the world. Bighorn is described as “The apex of chalet luxury in North America at the pinnacle of heliskiing”. Uniquely we offer the ultimate in accommodation and service alongside private heliskiing adventures in the Selkirk Mountains. The result is that this “thrashes the finest bespoke skiing in the world”.